Nothing To Lose
by Achiila
Summary: When Cherry, a girl who is abnormally suitable for Cherub is accepted, though refuses to give any information about where she came from, what will happen when the people who once haunted her old life find her again?
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here it is! My first story! Sorry it hasn't got much going on, I wanted to introduce everyone!**

**I hope you like it and please, please review!**

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_Cherub..._

_Nothing to lose..._

A harsh wind filtered through the open window, blowing papers around the room. Two girls sat on adjacent beds, one in the lotus position with her eyes closed, and another looking at five different books before righting down notes.

"God can't you close that bloody window, it's freezing in here, and my notes are being blown everywhere!" The one looking at her books said. She was a rather plain girl with a short mousy bob and thin lips. The other girl said nothing, but opened her eyes a fraction to glare at the other girl.

"Freak." The plain girl muttered, standing up and walking to the window before slamming it loudly. Shaking her head, the silent girl untangled herself and opened her eyes.

"I'm not the one who left her homework 'til one o' clock in the morning, and bothered to do it." She muttered scathingly. She got down on the floor, digging around before finding a bottle of vodka. Of course, she was too young to drink it, but what did it matter? The home she was in was too full to notice if she was drunk or hung over. She felt eyes on her, and pulled back steadily, a glare already on her pale face.

"Do you mind not staring at my arse?" She said in a strong Lancashire accent. The boy behind her was annoying, overly-confident and he dressed like a chav. He blinked and shook his head before speaking again.

"I was just wondering where you were going with a bottle of vodka?" He asked her bluntly. Her eyes widened and she looked over at her roommate. Perhaps there was a God; she had her earphones plugged in.

"Somewhere you're not." She muttered, standing up. Even at full height, she was tiny, standing at only 4'11". The boy, James? Put his hand against the frame as she got close, preventing her from leaving. She grabbed it and tugged, using his weight advantage to flip him onto the floor.

"Agh! Cherry!" He called after her, but she was already on her way into the toilet. Once she was in there, she locked the door and went over to the window. She hated her nickname, but it was her own fault. It was her choice to dye her hair bright pink. She loved the style too much to change it though; it was short and spiky at the back, but straight and long at the front with a large side fringe that covered her forehead and the tip of her nose, obscuring one eye completely. Her eyes tended to scare people, shocking silver with a huge black ring around the iris; they always seemed to catch the light too. Her small baby-like hands pushed the window open, and she hoisted herself up onto the roof. Standing up and wobbling slightly in the breeze, she climbed to the top of the roof of Lancashire Children's Care Home. Sitting with her back against the chimney, she unscrewed the bottle and raised it to her lips.

"Here's to this dump I wish I could call my home." She said, lifting it up, as if sharing the bottle with the full moon. She raised the bottle back to her lips, but before she could take another swig, she felt those same strange eyes on her.

"Can't you just leave me be?" She grumbled. James came and sat next to her.

"I know you're too smart to be drinking that." He said pointedly, in his, I'm-so-smart kind of way.

"You know nothing about me." Cherry mumbled, voice slightly slurred.

"I do though, I know a lot about you." He said earnestly, in a knowledgeable way that scared her slightly.

"Whatever you're selling, I ain't buying." She said stubbornly, before raising the bottle to her lips. Only a drop actually made it into her mouth before the bottle was slapped out of her hands. She heard the smash as the bottle hit the tiles. Shocked, Cherry stared at James. Her hand slowly went to slap him, but he grabbed it, and twisted it round. She felt a sharp jab into her elbow.

"Whafu-" Were the only slurred words before she began to slip out of consciousness.

She woke up groggy, with one hell of a headache. She groaned, trying to remember the night before and coming up blank.

"How much did I drink?" She mumbled to herself. Her hands crept around, realising the size of her bed, and how it didn't creek when she moved. It had to be the comfiest bed she'd slept in since… She stopped herself. That was the old her, it didn't matter anymore. Her eyes opened, and she was noticed it wasn't her room. The room was large, but not quite large enough for two people, but it had many things you wouldn't find in a bedroom. Mini-fridge, kettle, microwave, this place was amazing. She spotted the clothes on the floor, and grimaced.

"Why'd it have to be orange?" She muttered, orange was not a good colour on her. A thought struck her, and her hand strayed to her nose. The ring was gone. She swore loudly, that stud had cost her so much! Pulling her close fitting grey top over her head, she snatched up the clothes that had been left to her and slid into them. She tucked the orange shirt into the army like trousers and walked towards the door. It opened easily, and she slid into a crowded corridor. Her head constantly ached, and her muscles were torture. She responded badly to sedatives, they made her head hurt and her movements slow. The people around her were dressed like her, but the shirts were different colours, some grey, some navy and others black. She walked up to a boy and opened her mouth, but he was quicker.

"Can't talk to orange." He said, and walked off. Cherry stood there, annoyed and shocked. Turning around, she tried with a girl, and got the same response. The third person she tried pointed along the corridor and gestured for her to go right. She followed the directions, and spotted a staircase. Almost running down it, she found a reception desk. The woman looked older than anyone else here, and despite normally hating adults, Cherry went straight to her.

"Please don't say 'can't talk to orange', but what's going on?" She asked helplessly. The woman smiled at her kindly.

"Good evening, please follow me." She asked stepping out from behind her desk and walking off. Cherry followed her warily. The receptionist came to a door, and knocked on it.

"Enter." A vaguely Scottish voice commanded. The receptionist left me, and I pushed the door open tentatively. A smiling middle-aged man waved me into his office.

"Now, Cheryl Carter, I suppose you'd like to know where you are." He asked.

"Yes, that would be nice. Also, do you have any painkillers?" She mumbled, grimacing at the pain in her head. The man frowned at that.

"Of course, you don't like sedatives, do you?" He said, pushing two small tablets and a glass of water towards her.

"No, sir." She said, taking the pills gratefully.

"Now, let's begin. You're on the CHERUB campus." He said, as if that explained everything.

"And what exactly is CHERUB?" Cherry asked.

"CHERUB is an extension of the British Intelligence, but instead of using adults to infiltrate places, we use children. Criminals have been doing it for years, and so have we." He said in an off-hand way.

"And why am I here?"

"You're here because, though you are older than our average recruit, you already know two languages fluently, and are learning a third already, you are very smart, and have advanced training in combat. We are here to offer you a place in CHERUB."

"Well, what can CHERUB offer me?"

"We can give you one of the best educations that this country can offer - all of our students go to top universities when they retire from CHERUB- and we can also offer you a home. We have a school onsite, and many sporting facilities including a running track, a gym, a dojo, shooting range and several more."

"What would I have to do to join?" She asked warily. It sounded too good to be true, this had to be a dream, or a joke.

"Well, you have to pass five tests, and you have to agree to join the British Intelligence. Are you interested, or should we send you back to your home in Lancashire" He said. Cherry thought for a moment. She didn't have anything to lose, and this was obviously not a joke.

"I'll take the tests, sir." She said, and he beamed.

"Call me Mac." He said, before leading her out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

**I finished the second chapter, yay! Please review, I really appreciate it!**

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_Cherub..._

_Nothing To Lose..._

The sky was clear and cloudless, allowing the harsh sun to beat down on the ground. Cherry thought she could actually see the grass shrivelling underneath her feet. Mac walked beside her silently, letting her take it all in. The campus was huge; she couldn't see the surrounding walls. She could see children of all ages around her, some sitting and talking, others walking as if they had a purpose. She noticed there were some smaller children in red shirts playing. Surely they wouldn't use children that small?

"We start their education early, but they can't go through basic training until they're eleven." He said casually, as if he had guessed her thoughts. Shaking her head, she noticed the building they were walking towards was undeniably Japanese.

"The dojo?" She asked curiously, and Mac nodded. He held the doors open for her, and she didn't even have to bend to get under his arm. She grimaced, noticing how big some of the people here were. She was strong and agile, but sometimes you just had to recognise the fights you hadn't a hope of winning against.

"Have you ever been taught anything like this?" Mac asked her, walking up to a skinny boy in the back corner of the dojo.

"I took some self-defence classes before my parents-" She stopped before carrying on. "I got quite good at it, but then I had to stop." Cherry murmured, as if the thought saddened her. No one knew anything about her background, she had been taught since she was little not to stick out in a crowd, never to give away any true information. The home she had been taken in by had found her on the streets, and she had refused to give even her real name, let alone anything about her background. He stopped in front of Bruce, and brought her in front of him.

"Cheryl, this is Bruce, Bruce this is Cheryl." Mac said, and Bruce reached out to shake her hand. When she put her hand in his, he seemed momentarily shaken by the sheer child-like smallness of it.

"Nice to meet you Cheryl." He said, smiling at her.

"Likewise." Cherry murmured, warily returning his smile.

"Your first test is to fight him, there will be five bouts, but there is always the option to submit and try again." Mac said to her. Cherry plucked a small elastic band off of her bony wrists and tied her hair back, out of her face. Bruce gawked at the rough red streak that underlined her cheekbone. She grimaced, remembering how the scar had come to be there. She faced him, sizing him up. He appeared to be doing the same. He had a height advantage, and he weighed more than her, even though he was skinny. He was probably at the same level as her or better in training. She would have to rely on speed and luck. Not the best mix, but all she had.

"Begin!" Mac said. Cherry's fist was the first to shoot out, hitting him squarely in the jaw. She heard a sickening pop as it dislocated. He stumbled back, surprised, and she swept her foot along the ground to trip him up. He landed chest down, and she knelt on the small of his back to prevent him from getting up. She grabbed one of his arms and dragged it round his back, tugging hard. He grunted in pain. Cherry grimaced, she didn't enjoy causing pain, but she did what she had to do. She tugged harder.

"Submit!" Bruce yelled scathingly, voice hard to understand because of his jaw.

"Do you want to continue?" He asked Bruce, who nodded, glaring at Cherry.

"Begin." Mac said again. Bruce was faster this time, his foot connecting with one of her ribs. She fell back, breathing heavily and struggling not to clutch her side. Bruce ran forward, pushing her against the wall. His fist came towards her face and she ducked, tackling his legs and bringing him down. She straddled him across the chest, arms pinned under her knees. She was about to launch another punch when he rolled over. Now he sat on top of her stomach. His fist connecting with her temple before she could comprehend what happened. She lay there dazed while he secured her arms under his knees. She smiled up at him, and he looked slightly confused. Bringing her knee up fast, she connected with his groin, and he rolled off of her gasping.

"Submit!" He yelled again. She noticed others staring at her and blushed self-consciously. Applause rang through the small audience. She smiled slightly, but tried to block them out.

"Do you wish to continue?" He asked Bruce again. Bruce nodded, standing up and walking oddly.

"Begin." Cherry struck first, but Bruce grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. She flung her other arm back and hit him hard across the shoulder. Twisting away quickly, she launched a kick to his head. He took hold of her foot and twisted it so that she fell. He used the same trick as her in the first round, kneeling on her back and pulling her arm.

"Yell submit or I'll break your arm." He growled in her ear.

"Submit." She said, annoyed, and he released her. She stood up and Mac asked whether she'd like to continue. Cherry nodded, and Mac told them to begin. Bruce struck her in the chest, but instead of falling back she tried for another punch. He grabbed her fist and launched his own into her stomach. His fist doubled back and struck her in the eye.

"Submit!" She yelled, seeing only grey blurs in one eye. Her breath came quickly, panicking. Each breath hurt her side, and she wondered if she had a broken rib.

"Would you like to continue onto the last bout?" Mac asked. Cherry nodded again, and a silent crowd waited in wonder to see if a new recruit could beat Bruce. Bruce himself looked confident, but something in his eye showed his doubt. Most people didn't generally last so long, especially not girls as small and thin as Cherry.

"Begin." He said, eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement. Bruce rushed forward, and instead of launching a punch, took her legs put with a sweep of his feet. As she fell, all she could hear was her own heart beat.

_What would mum do?_ Cherry thought, relishing how this fought didn't hurt her to think. Most of her memories left her feeling empty, but this was different. Bruce tried to hold her down with his knee again, but she rolled off of her front and onto her back. Her hands grasped his foot and tugged. She moved out of the way just as he fell, pushing herself up into a standing position. He sprang up just as quickly, and they circled each other. She dived first, but he caught her fist. As she tried to snatch her wrist back, Bruce twisted it. She bit back a yell as it dislocated. Anger shone in her eyes, and a wild glint entered her eye. Bruce looked momentarily scared. She stomped down hard on his foot before smashing her palm into his nose. She head the crack of broken cartilage. Her fist smashed into his forehead, and she brought her knee up to his groin again. He collapsed on the floor.

"Submit!" He yelled again. The wildness left her eyes, and she became aware of the cheering around her. She ducked her head, embarrassed. Offering her good hand to Bruce, she helped him up.

"Nice fight." She complimented him, as Mac came to collect her.

"Here, I'll fix your wrist." Bruce told her. She smiled at him apologetically before handing him her wrist. Maybe if his opponent were bigger and not as innocent looking, Bruce would have been less gentle with her, but looking at her big silver eyes, he felt his anger slip away. Returning the smile grudgingly, he twisted her wrist until the familiar click came, telling him that it was back in place. Besides a slight hitch in her breathing, she looked like she'd barely noticed the pain. Cherry looked at Mac.

"So, what's the next test?" She asked

"Mathematics and English papers." He said, leading the way out of the dojo. The others watched her go silently.

When they reached the other building and Cherry was sat down at a table, Mac handed her a pen.

"You have forty-five minutes starting now; do as much as you can." He said. She nodded, opening the paper and writing in small neat block letters.

The forty-five minutes passed slowly, and by the end of it, Cherry was still a couple of pages away from the end. She grimaced as Mac pulled the paper away from her. Standardised tests had never been her forte. Mac pointed out the way to the canteen.

"We had a few requests to escort you there, but considering the report we were given about you, we guessed you would prefer to make your own way there." He said, beginning to walk off.

Cherry walked to the canteen alone, thinking hard and trying to take in the whole point of the days events. Already she could feel herself warming to this place, and she wondered what would happen if she failed the tests. She didn't think that she could go back to her Lancashire home, not after she knew about Cherub. The big building loomed up in front of her, and she stared in dismay at all of the students in their groups, messing around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Please review, I'll write better!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cherub, or any of the characters, and unfortunately, that's not going to change.**

**Hope you enjoy, and sorry for the delay!**

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_Cherub..._

_Nothing To Lose..._

Sunlight slithered in through the windows, the heat concentrating and baking the whole canteen. Cherry walked steadily in through the doors, her stare bored and uncaring on the outside. She was good at suppressing things when she needed too. It was a strange feeling, knowing that every single child here had no parents. The fact that she was the only one who had no one to sit with made her feel all the more alone. She walked quickly to where they were serving the food. None of the food made her particularly hungry today, despite the very clear fact that it was probably better than any food she'd had in a while.

"Can I just have some water?" Cherry asked, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible.

"Are you sure? We have lots left over…" The lady at the counter said, grabbing a bottle and handing it to her.

"No, thank you." Cherry said, walking off. She looked around the canteen, hand tapping the bottle subconsciously. She tried to ignore the stares and whispers that the students directed towards her.

"That's the one who beat up Bruce Norris!"

"Oh my god, look at her hair!"

"Wow, she's so tiny!" Were a few of the most common whispers. She grimaced, for once regretting the fact that she stood out so completely. Not that she would change for them, which would be admitting she needed to change for society to accept her. Cherry spotted and empty seat far enough from any group of students so that she would not be associated with them. She sat in it, sipping from her water. Cherry didn't know whether it was the stares that alienated her, or the fact that absolutely no one came to talk to her, but she felt oddly unaccepted here. She felt an odd urge to run away from this place. She got up and walked towards the canteen door. On her way out, she saw a boy. He had coal black hair that was perfectly straight, besides an outward flick at the end. A large side fringe swept to the right covered one honey coloured eye so dark it was almost amber. He was pale, but not as unnaturally so as Cherry. His eyes met hers, and she felt something. Not an instant shock, but something deeper, like the gradual shift of the earth as the continents drifted away from each other. She shook her head, expelling the odd and irrational comparison. But she could still feel his eyes on her back as she walked away.

She made her own way to the next test, barely remembering the directions Mac had given her before lunch. On her way there she finished off the water. Cherry pushed the door open and walked in. She saw a cage with a small white bird in it. It took her a moment, but she realised it was a chicken. Why would they have a chicken? She looked at Mac, a question in her eyes.

"I suppose you're wondering what the third test is?" Mac asked her, and she nodded, eyes wandering back to the chicken.

"Do you like chicken?" Mac asked.

"The animal, yes." She answered. Mac looked at her quizzically.

"I want you to kill this chicken." He said. Cherry blanched at stared at him in shock, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she managed to get a proper answer out of her mouth.

"How?" She choked out, blinking several times. He handed her a biro, opening the cage and pulling the chicken out. It clucked uncertainly before settling down. Mac handed the chicken to Cherry.

"Stab it in the neck with this, it will die almost instantly. I'd advise to hold the chicken away from you." He said. She nodded, turning the chicken around. Clutching the pen tighter, she drew it backwards. Cherry plunged the pen deep into the chicken's neck, ignoring how the contents of its intestines spilled onto the floor. The chicken went stiff for a moment, then limp. She handed it back stiffly to Mac, who put the poor thing down on a table. He smiled at her, and she shakily returned the smile. He headed off outside.

"So, what's the next test?" She asked, her hand wandering to her ribs. The pain was very sharp… Like being stabbed. She shook her head, knowing they were either broken or badly bruised, easily fixed and forgotten. She noticed the sun slowly climbing down

Mac took her a little ways into the woods, and pointed upwards. At the top of a very large tree, a small child in a red shirt stood, clinging to the wood. Blocks of wood had been secured to the tree so that people could climb up. She wasn't sure from this distance, but the child looked terrified. Then again, so did she.

"We need you to climb up there and collect the little girl up there, she's too scared to use the zip wire by herself." Mac said. Cherry did a double take, finally noticing the zip wire. She looked pale, very pale indeed.

"I can't, it's too high." She said, shaking her head and crossing her arms around herself. But her feet had already started moving towards the tree. Cherry didn't know what made her start to climb, fear of failing the test, or leaving the little girl up there. The logical part of her mind told her that they would have people more experienced than her to help the little girl down, but still she began to climb. When she got halfway up, she craned her head down. A small whimper escaped her throat, and she began to shiver slightly. Hands clinging to the tree, she couldn't move. Her breaths came out shallowly, and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. Her hand slipped, and suddenly she was hanging off the tree, one hand clinging on for dear life. Adrenaline kicked in, and she managed to somehow swing herself back around, until all four limbs were clutching at wood. Adrenaline still pumping around her body, the rest of the climb was surprisingly easy. At the top, she could tell that the adrenaline was gone and it was only pure willpower that had kept her going. Before she gave herself time to think, she scooped the small crying girl into her arms, hopped onto the zip wire, pulling the child onto her lap, and they were zooming towards the ground together. She screamed in terror, where as the young one cried out in joy. A tinge of annoyance invaded Cherry's mind. The whole thing had been an act, the child was fine. When they reached the bottom, she dropped onto the mat rather clumsily and sat there stunned with herself for a moment. She got up, and her legs felt strange and jelly-like. Cherry was afraid she would fall over, but she managed to keep her balance as she ambled over to Mac.

"That, was insane." She gasped, and Mac chuckled, as if the hundred foot drop were nothing. He began to walk off again, and Cherry hopelessly followed.

The assault course went fine, except for two things. The first problem was when she had to do the jump. The instructors said that she would do it without thinking if she were on the ground. Cherry replied that this wasn't on the ground, and the instructors laughed at that. It took a further 10 minutes of persuasion for her to finally make the leap. She was fine, which surprised her. At the end though, when she saw the drop, she simply refused to do it. No way in hell would she make that drop onto the blue mat. It looked so bloody far down. She would break her leg, or her neck. After an hour that seemed like an age, they had to get a ladder up the tree and have someone carry her down, she was in such a state.

"Go see a nurse about your ribs, and then get some rest. We'll talk some more tomorrow he said, looking up at the dark sky. She could tell that she had taken longer on the assault course than he had expected. She did what he said, going to see the nurse. Her eyes were puffy and red, where stray tears had escaped from a near panic attack. She was still shaky, and the day had taken it's toll on her. In the waiting room, she got a better hold on herself, though she still looked a mess. A nurse wandered out and saw her.

"You should have said you were out here, silly." The nurse said kindly, beckoning Cherry into her office. She took a look at Cherry's ribs, concurring that one was fractured, and four others badly bruised. At least none of the bone had splintered, which was good. She didn't have to have surgery. The nurse bandaged her side, and checked over her other sore places. There was nothing horrific. She walked wearily back to her room. As she pushed the door open, she saw the boy she had seen in the canteen today, heading for the door next to hers. Before he could see what a state she was in, Cherry ducked into her room. All he saw of her was her tiny boots disappearing in the door way. He smiled at the thought of having a new roommate before disappearing into his own room.

Cherry collapsed wearily onto her soft bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the mattress. She hadn't even bothered to change first.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know I've probably got a few things wrong in this chapter, but I haven't read Cherub in ages and I'm seriously jet lagged from my holiday, so please bear with me! Also, sorry for the wait, like I said before, I was on holiday.**

**Hope you like it, and again, please review!**

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_Cherub..._

_Nothing To Lose.._

The dark lump swathed in a bundle of cloth on the bed grunted and rolled over onto it's side. With a gasp, Cherry jumped up from the bed clutching her ribs and moaned. Her first dreamless night in months, and she had been woken up from a stupid injury. She looked at the clock beside her. Five in the morning. Grabbing a pillow, she buried her face into it and screamed her frustration, before rolling off the bed and going into the bathroom. She stripped off the dirty clothes, and climbed into the shower. Her favourite shampoos and conditioners were there, and she didn't know whether or not to be pleased or scared. But there wasn't anything she could do about it for now, and so she used them, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles, and lessen the pains from the day before. Grimacing, she remembered the last test and wondered briefly if it would affect her being let into Cherub. She knew that there wasn't a thing she could do about it if she wasn't fit for Cherub, but she couldn't go back to that home, not now she knew about this place. Did they even notice her absence? Probably not, she had disappeared for four days and nights before, and only got a quick rebuff from the house mothers. Her roommate might've, but Jane was never one to miss Cherry. Shaking the disturbing thought that there would be no one to miss her out of her head, she stepped out of a shower and dried quickly.

Putting on the dirty uniform felt like a punishment, and she checked in the other room first to see if there were any new clothes there. Just before she was about to give up and put on the dirty uniform, she noticed there were new clothes on the bed that definitely hadn't been there before her shower. She looked around suspiciously, snatching the clothes up and running into the bathroom. Changing quickly, she did her hair, before noticing a small device near the sink.

"My Ipod!" Cherry squealed delightedly, shoving the headphones in and blaring music into her ears. Was it too early to go? She didn't put make up on, it was her features or nothing, and she didn't want to disguise herself with the junk that most girls wore, so she had a lot of free time normally. It was 5:17 a.m. Sighing, she walked out of the door. No one was in the corridor, but she could remember the way to the reception. Gliding down the flights of stairs, she pulled her Ipod out of her ears and slotted it into her boots, like she had done in Lancashire to avoid getting it stolen. Of course, she had stolen it herself, but who knew that?

"Hello dear, did you sleep well?" The receptionist asked, too cheery for this time in the morning. Still, Cherry nodded politely, and the woman led her back to Mac's office. Cherry knocked three times.

"Enter." The voice answered. She didn't know why, but that small command seemed oddly ominous. Pushing the door open, she slid in and closed the door behind her. Her feet seemed to move on their own as she walked to a seat in front of him. Mac sighed, crossing his arms over the desk and clasping his hands together.

"Now Cherry, how do you think you did?" He asked Cherry. She pondered for a moment.

"I think I did good on the first test, because I won overall and didn't get badly hurt. I'm not sure about the test, but I can normally scrape a pass on timed tests. The third test I must've passed, because I killed the chicken, didn't I? The fourth I completed and the fifth I know that I failed." She said, getting less positive as her words went on.

"Well, you did excellent on the first test, Bruce is one of our best fighters, and you beat him. You also gave in when he threatened you with a serious injury, which is a problem a lot of our agents have. The second test, you did remarkably well on, scoring much higher than average. The third test went without a hitch, and you killed the chicken without getting squeamish. You did complete the fourth test, but unfortunately have to agree with you on the fifth test." He said, spreading his hands out, as if apologizing. She closed her eyes, letting her hair cover her face.

"Despite that, we would like to offer you a place at Cherub, should you choose to accept," He said softly, and she looked up sharply. "It just means that you need to work on that fear before you join basic training, which is in two weeks time. Should you choose to join Cherub, you will need to head over to the main building for a check up."

"Even so, you'll need to go back to your Lancashire care home for a couple of days."

Cherry was grinning now, happy that she finally belonged somewhere. She could already feel this place becoming a home.

"I want to join." She said quickly, excitedly. Mac laughed and sent her on her way.

She went for the check up, and had surprised the doctor. She had had all of the shots except for two, and her physical state was in his words 'perfect'. She already knew that her abs were pronounced, faint lines tracing her stomach, showing muscle definition. He smiled and sent her on her way. She went back to her room, enjoying the rare British sun on her skin as she walked. She skipped up the stairs, a stupid grin on her face, and burst into her room. She saw the pale blue uniform already laid out on her bed, and slid into it stupendously fast.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur, exploring her new home and having people come up to her and congratulating her. At lunch, she sat in the same space as the day before, this time with an apple and banana in front of her. Cherry took a bite out of the sweet red apple, better tasting than any apple she had been given in that home. Her thoughts drifted as she thought about having to go back there, until she was interrupted by a hand tapping her on the shoulder. Turning quickly, she felt automatically dwarfed as she looked upwards at the face. The guy had to be at least 6'5". But other than that, she felt a strange feeling, and recognized him in an instant as the guy she had seen the other day. Cherry was stunned, speechless.

"You're in my seat." He grumbled, the low sound coming straight from his chest. Shaking her head, Cherries eyes tightened defensively.

"Really, how interesting." She mused, taking another bite of apple and moving around in the seat. "I think I like this seat, too." Cherry smiled sweetly up at him. He glared at her, before turning away. She sighed, taking another bite of apple.

Suddenly, arms constricted around her, and with a yelp, she felt the floor disappear beneath her. Being airborne was a strange feeling; as soon as you noticed the absence of gravity, you came crashing back down. She slid onto her side, winded. The boy went to walk back to his seat, not appearing to notice the whole cafeteria had gone silent. Cherry, still on the floor, lunged forward and took out his legs. He fell forwards, and she used his weight to straddle his waist, pinning his arms down with her hands.

"I think you owe me an apology." She said coldly, made of stone. He didn't try to wriggle, his whole body slumping inwards. She smirked at him, relaxing slightly. But abruptly, he propelled his weight onto her, flipping Cherry onto her back and pinning her arms under his knees. She could feel the uncomfortable sensation of her circulation being cut off.

"Oh, really?" He smirked at her, cocking one eyebrow up. She noticed he had a lip ring then, and couldn't draw her eyes away from it. Suddenly he pulled himself off, and she jumped up. While he was preoccupied, Cherry grabbed the seat. She looked over and saw a teacher walk in and realised just how close they had been to getting caught.

The rest of the day was spent dawdling, listening to music and reading. When she got back to her room, Cherry saw with delight that her nose ring had been returned. She put it back in, and dropped onto the bed, exhausted. The next time she woke up, she would wake back in her Lancashire home.


End file.
